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Senior Speakers – January 22

The senior speaker series continued on January 22 and featured eight members of the Class of 2018: Jenna Polidoro, Max Bass, Westley Bartlett, Cian Beaulieu, Peter Kim,Kevin Kuzmeski, Collin Parrow, and Matteo Calderan.

The series launched last year as part of Suffield’s chapel program. All seniors deliver a speech, presentation, or performance to the community. Headmaster Charlie Cahn feels the program serves as a formative experience for the seniors and another opportunity to strengthen community. These talks are supplemented by traditional chapel events including the Alumni Leadership Day program, Student Council Elections, and Kent-Davis Speaking Competition during Commencement week.

From Tolland, Connecticut, Jenna Polidoro talked about the high expectations students often place on themselves. “Sometimes it feels like every small mistake is the end of the world,” she noted. “But as long as you put forth your best effort you can never be disappointed by the result.” While senior speakers have generally spent time sharing personal anecdotes, performances, or presentations, Cian Beaulieu, Kevin Kuzmeski, Peter Kim, Westley Bartlett, and Max Bass took turns talking about each other. Cian shared words about his close friend Kevin. Kevin shared comments about Peter. Peter talked about Westley’s role as a leader. Westley provided 72 reasons why Max is special, and Max highlighted the dos and don’ts in making a good impression on Cian. “Do say you like Game of Thrones,” he said. “Don’t say water polo is a silly sport.” From Southwick, Massachusetts, Collin Parrow gave insight to his life with Polycystic kidney disease (PKD). “There are many things that could go wrong so I am not entirely sorry I must endure this,” he noted. “In fact, of all the things that could be worse I am grateful in a way that this is manageable.” A descendant of Italy, Matteo Calderan highlighted some fun facts about Italian food, automobiles, and lifestyle. He concluded, “If there is one thing I want you to take away from my chapel it is this: Gelato is NOT ice cream.”

The senior speaker series will resume on January 29. You may view all chapel talks here.